


(Working title) The Trials of the Untested

by Firebird24811



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, And a great headmistress, BAMF Minerva McGonagall, Because Minerva is nice, Because fuck that auror shit, Because she's always BAMF, Dudley Dursley Has a Magical Child, Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, Harry is crazy rich, He named one after Hestia, Including the Applebys, Minerva gets shit done, Multi, OCs - Freeform, Professor Draco Malfoy, Professor Harry Potter, Professor Neville Longbottom, Professor Teddy Lupin, That was just his trust fund, The Travors are a big family, The goblins don't like telling humans stuff, The school is giant now, They're just mostly cousins, They're not all siblings, Trying to focus on more background DE, Unless absolutely needed, Well two actually, Wizarding Culture, and yes, they're twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-18 17:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11295753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firebird24811/pseuds/Firebird24811
Summary: Next generation, sort of. Instead of taking place directly after the epilogue, this takes place twenty-five years later. Includes my head-canon OCs, Nicholas and Merritt Potter, because I wanted to write a story about Dudley's kids, couldn't see him having kids quite that soon, and wanted a Potter cousin to hang out with them. Nicholas and Merritt happened to be a package deal.--Clemency and Ace Parker have always had strange things happen around them, but they've never thought much of it. Their father is loving but not very observant, and their mother believes that science has or will have an answer for everything. So when an owl brings their father a letter and a strange man--Uncle Harry--tells them they're wizards, they certainly don't expect their father to know what Uncle Harry is talking about, or for Mum to simply give in and send them off to a strange school called Hogwarts. And while it's scary at first, the two begin to settle in and feel like they've found their place in the world. Except things are happening in the wizarding world. Old feuds, underestimated enemies, and secret rivalries are all being opened up, all the while the fog rolls in...





	1. Our children are WHAT?!

**Author's Note:**

> This is VERY MUCH a WIP. I just couldn't resist posting chapter 1 and getting feedback because I WANT FEEDBACK SO MUCH DANG IT I'M SORRY I'M AN ATTENTION WHORE THERE I SAID IT. 
> 
> And you call yourself a Ravenclaw, woman. Get a hold of yourself.
> 
> Right, right, sorry self. Um...yeah. So I actually have more then this written but it's not done. I mean neither is this--notice the abrupt end at the end, but I'm having difficulty ending scenes. I really really need a beta on this, since the ideas--good lord the ideas--are multiplying and making it hard to FINISH anything. 
> 
> Anyway enjoy. At the bottom notes I'm gonna put a cheat sheet to the Weasley families--bad guy families I'll leave for another day, along with the rest of the families.
> 
> ~Topaz/Firebird

It was a regular Monday morning for the Parker family, until an owl tried to break through the dining room window. Dudley had changed in the twenty five years since he had gone into hiding. While his father had come out hating magic even more, Dudley had almost completely changed. Unable to be coddled, Dudley had for the first time in his life actually done his fair share of work, and seen people willing to put their lives down on the line for him, even if they didn’t know him at all. He also saw scary stuff. It made him think hard about his life. Since then, he’d changed. He’d never be a genius, but he’d taken a four year degree at community college. Taken up boxing professionally, then decided he’d had enough of being in the ring and become a coach and gym teacher for the high school. It was grueling work, especially when, due to budget cuts, he ended up teaching health, but he muddled through. He would never have made it, were it not for his wife. Amelia Parker was his science TA in the second year, a pretty young woman with brown skin and curly ash brown hair, and despite what everyone said about her dating policy, he’d managed to convince her to go out on a date. Almost two decades later and he woke up every morning to his wife’s smiling face. Everything was going great.

On the particular morning, it was rather hectic. The twins were not happy about summer camp--they had gotten in trouble the previous day. Ace and Clemency had been working together on a craft project during free time, when some kids tried to steal it from him. The counselors weren’t entirely sure how the eyebrows of the thieves had been singed off, when the project was incapable of doing anything and no lighters or matches had been found on their person, but the twins were still in trouble. This made for quite the sullen breakfast.

Amelia and Dudley had decided to make an elaborate breakfast instead of the usual toast and eggs or fruit and cereal, attempting to have a nice relaxed morning before the kids had to go to their usual activities, but it wasn’t working out so well. Neither Ace nor Clem were talking much, other then whispers to each other and glares when they realized they were being watched. Ace was frequently being caught sneaking his breakfast to Socks and Joan, the families two always happy dogs. Meanwhile, Dudley could see that Clemency was anxious about the upcoming day, since she kept braiding and unbraiding her golden curls.

Their oldest daughter, Margaret or “Peggy,” fifteen years old and far too smart for her own good, in Dudley’s opinion was reading an SAT prep book instead of eating. Except for pausing every once in a while to push up her glasses or pull a blond hair out of her face, Peggy’s hazel eyes were glued to the information contained inside the book. He supposed it was better than what some of his friends had to deal with. If she so much as mentioned a boy, he thought his head might explode. Jack, the baby of the family at two years old, with skin darker than Dudley’s but lighter than Amelia’s, had decided he no longer liked anything other than fried bread and jam, and was attempting to grind beans into his brown hair, blue eyes squinted up as he laughed at Amelia’s attempts to stop him.

So of course that was the perfect moment for an owl to divebomb the window. Dudley, trying to work through the newspaper, at first thought it was one of the kids. “Quiet, you lot,” he muttered. Nobody heard, but he didn’t hear it again for a few minutes. Then, right in the middle of the sports section, Dudley turned the page and--CLICK CLICK. “Bloody hell, what is it?” Dudley threw down his newspaper and looked around for the sound. Then he saw the owl.

Dudley had never told his children about their cousin. He had told Amelia about Harry and the whole magic deal, but she’d thought he was joking when he told her years ago, and they hadn’t brought it up since. To be honest, Dudley hadn’t thought of his younger cousin in years. For a while Dudley had considered trying to reconcile with Harry, but Dudley just came up with excuses every time. According to his mother, Harry had sent a few Christmas cards at some point, but Mum was always quick to add within her husbands hearing that they had never responded, hoping he’d think they had moved. Dudley hadn’t actually seen an owl in twenty five years. Long enough to almost think the magical world was a fantastic game they’d played as kids. But he knew he wasn’t hallucinating the owl. Especially when Jack, momentarily distracted from his beans, shrieked. “Daddy, Daddy, owl!” Before he could respond, the owl chose that moment to squawk impatiently. Apparently it was smart enough to realize someone was paying attention.

After thirty seconds of silence as the family stared, Dudley realized he had no choice. He walked over to the window and pulled up the sash. Immediately the owl swooped in and landed on the table, managing to avoid landing in the platter of sausages and bacon. It looked at him grumpily, as if to say, about time, then began pecking at a sausage. Amelia looked too shocked to say anything, but Peggy shrieked. “Dad, why’d you let it in? It probably has bugs!”  
Dudley ignored his daughter and reached for the owl, unfastening the letter on it’s leg. The owl must have been used to this, since it didn’t pause in devouring sausage at all.

Turning over the envelope, he read the scrawled name on the front. Immediately all the color that had remained in his face drained away. The twins watched him curiously, and Amelia came around and took the letter from him. “Dudley and Amelia Parker, from Harry Potter.” She gave him a funny look. “Hon, isn’t that your cousins name?”  
Dudley swallowed hard. “Y-yup. That’s the one.”  
Amelia frowned. “He sends letters through owls?”  
“Yeah.”  
“This is going to take a while.” It wasn’t a question. Amelia turned to the kids.   
“Ace, Clemency, go get ready for camp. Peggy, if you could make sure Jack’s clean and put him in his playpen, you can go to your room until it’s time to go.” The twins left the table immediately, Peggy more slowly.  
Once the kids were out of the room, Amelia gently pushed Dudley until he was sitting down, then pulled a chair next to him. The owl chose this moment to fly out of the house, a sausage still in it’s claws half-eaten, but they didn’t notice. “Alright, let’s see what this says, shall we?”  
“Fine,” Dudley muttered, knowing his wife well enough to know she wouldn’t take no for an answer.  
Amelia slid her fingernail under the envelope flap, and pulled out a crisp sheet of parchment. “Alright, let’s see...   
“Dear Dudley,  
No doubt you’re surprised to see an owl--it’s been twenty-five years after all. I hope it didn’t disturb your family too much, but the post would have taken too long for this. I’m writing because the names of your twins popped up on the list of muggle-born wizards of school age and the protocol is for a school teacher to be assigned to assist the new student and family in learning about the necessary details and adjust to the wizarding world. This is found to be more effective than simply sending the normal acceptance letter.  
In your childrens case, the teacher assigned is myself, and as of such I will be arriving at your house around one o’clock. A warning seemed prudent. In addition, I will have two of my children, as they will also be starting this year, and knowing a few students before they begin might help with adjusting.

Seeing you soon.  
Sincerely,  
Harry Potter”

Amelia stared at Dudley. “Dudley...this--you--magic...” She seemed unable to finish a sentence.  
Dudley put a hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her even though the letter made him scared. “It’s fine, Amelia, really. Remember what I told you about what happened when I was eighteen?”  
“Well, yes, but--”  
“But you thought I was having a laugh, I know.” Amelia looked very guilty now. “I’m not upset, don’t think that.”  
“So...” Amelia paused. “So you were really telling the truth.”  
“Yes. I don’t really understand a lot, but yeah, magic is real.”  
“And our children are magic.”  
“According to this letter, yeah.”  
“Oh.” Amelia took a deep breath. “Well, I suppose the kids had better get dressed then, if your cousin will be here in...” She glanced at the kitchen clock. “...two hours. Can you call the camp to tell them the twins won’t be coming today and drive Peggy to her lessons?”  
“Of course.” Dudley didn’t know how his wife, who knew even less about the wizarding world then him, was taking it better then him, but he wasn’t going to question it that much. At least someone was taking control of the situation.


	2. Harry Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry comes with his sons to explain everything. Um...not much else. This is still pretty WIP. If anyone is interested in beta-ing, I'd be superbly happy, but since this isn't exactly a manuscript type thing, I'm not gonna sweat it otherwise. I'll self edit once fully done and along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I forget, after this chapter, it starts changing POV. We'll see it from Clem's POV, Ace's, Merritts, and more. I'm planning on all the Potters, at least.

Two hours later and the twins were ready. They seemed much more interested in this strange cousin they’d never heard about then their parents. Dudley suspected they were just happy to get out of going to camp. When Amelia had told them they had other things to do today, Dudley had heard them cheering from downstairs and outside where he was buckling Jack into the car.

Remembering the mess that family of red-headed wizards had made in the living room decades ago trying to get out of the boarded up fireplace, Dudley had removed the boards covering the fireplace and placed down cardboard in front of it, ignoring Amelia’s questions. It would sound crazy without proof, anyway. While the twins sat on the couch kicking their feet back and forth and Amelia sat sewing calmly, Dudley sat in his usual armchair and tried to focus on the newspaper. He couldn’t quite pull it off, though, as he frequently looked up from the same paragraph to watch the clock or check the fireplace again. 

At four minutes past one, Dudley was starting to believe the letter might have been a joke, albeit an elaborate one. All the wizards he’d seen had traveled in strange ways. Why wouldn’t Harry? Then he heard the sound of a car pulling up to their house and stopping. Amelia and he both glanced towards the hall, and a minute later they heard a loud series of knocks. The first two were brisk, but polite-sounding. Then five or six sharp knocks in quick succession followed. Dudley could vaguely make out the sounds of a man scolding someone, and he remembered the letter mentioning two kids. What would they be like, he wondered warily.  
Amelia took the lead in this, getting up and walking out of the room. Dudley could hear her open the door and greet the newcomers. After a minute, a tall man walked into the living room, two small children about Ace and Clemency’s age following him and Amelia bringing up the rear.  
Clearly the twenty-five years since Dudley had last seen his cousin had done Harry well. Harry hadn’t physically grown any taller, but something about him said that he’d grown and seen more than Dudley would ever experience in his whole life. His hair was still as unruly as ever, but now his roots were starting to go gray early. Dudley was afraid to imagine why. Harry was wearing, thankfully, nothing weird. Simply a gray and black pinstripe suit. True, the coat was much longer than normally appropriate, being about knee length, but it was still an improvement over the robes Dudley had seen other wizards wearing. “Hello, Harry,” Dudley finally choked out. “You look well.”  
Harry clearly felt much less awkward about the reunion after twenty-five years. He grinned and shook Dudleys hand firmly. “So do you, Dudley.” Harry glanced back at his two kids, who were staring around curiously, bright eyes between black spectacles. “Dudley, these are my two youngest sons, Nick and Merritt.”  
“Um...”  
Dudley felt embarrassed to ask, but thankfully Harry realized what Dudley was asking. “Nick is the one with the red hair, Merritt has black hair.”  
Both boys looked quite similar to Harry when they were growing up. Of course, Dudley thought with more then a twinge of guilt, neither of them were on the cusp of being starved. Merritt was a scrawny boy with pale freckled skin, messy black hair, and hazel green eyes. Nick, on the other hand, had tanner skin then Merritt, though still freckled and with hazel green eyes, and had aggressively short-cut red hair. Both looked curious about everything they saw in the room, but also irritated about something, Dudley wasn’t sure what.  
“Before I answer any questions you might have, I thought you might want to read the school letters,” Harry offered after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, holding out two letters to Dudley.  
Dudley stared at them, and it was Amelia who stood and took the two letters. She turned over the top and read the address, then eyed Harry suspiciously before she spoke. “Ace, would you like to read it?”  
“Yes,” Ace said quickly, then looked embarrassed.  
Nick looked furious at this and turned to glare at his father. “Why does he get to read his letter?! I didn’t get to read mine!” Ace, about to reach out, suddenly yelped as his fingers went bright red like he’d just been burned.  
“Nicholas!” Harry scowled down at Nick. “You know the rules. No underage magic. Certainly no underage magic to burn your cousin. I’ll be discussing punishments with your mother, but in the meantime apologize to your cousin.”  
“Sorry,” Nick muttered to nobody in particular, not sounding like he cared very much.  
With a sigh, Harry sat down on the couch next to Ace, who was attempting to stick both his hands in his mouth to soothe the burns. “Let me see that, young man. I may not be healer-level, but I can handle simple burns.” Dudley watched warily, half-expecting Harry to do something nasty, but he simply took out that stick he’d always carried around and muttered something, moving his stick in a weird pattern. A few seconds later, Ace’s fingers looked like their normal selves.  
“Woah!” Clemency leaned past Ace to examine his fingers. “How’d you do that?”  
“Magic.” Harry grinned.  
Amelia looked dumbfounded. “Actual...honest to god magic,” she whispered, seemingly not aware she was talking out loud. “Um...Ace, please read the letter.”  
“Um...alright.” Ace took the letter from his mum, glancing warily at Nick. The red-headed boy was sitting on the desk chair and was scowling at nothing in particular. “Um...it says...

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Dame, )  
Dear Mr. Ace Parker,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
Yours sincerely,  
Filius Flitwick  
Deputy Headmaster”  
Amelia leaned forward, trailing embroidery thread as she squinted at the letter. “Mr Potter, I’m having a hard time grasping this. I’ll admit I didn’t believe my husband when he first told me about...uh....your lot...”  
Dudley winced at the term, but Harry just smiled in a friendly way. “You can say wizard, Mrs Parker, it’s not an insult.”  
“I see. Well, anyway, I can’t really argue magic isn’t real, since you healed my son’s fingers right in front of me, but are you sure he and Clem are...wizards?”  
“Quite sure,” Harry said confidently. “If you’re not willing to send them to Hogwarts, that is of course your choice, but their magic wouldn’t go away, and without proper control of it, they could violate the statute of secrecy, which is wizarding law and would wind up with them prosecuted. Very unpleasant business.”  
“I...I see.”  
Ace, sitting on the couch, looked confused. “Excuse me, um, Harry-Mr Potter?”  
‘You can just call me Harry, young man. Or Uncle Harry, if you’d prefer it.” Harry extended a hand to Ace, who shook it hesitantly. “What is it?”  
“Well, Mr--Uncle--Harry...these requirements don’t make any sense. What kind of uniform is a robe?”  
Harry laughed. “Well, they’ve changed a bit since I went to school,but yes, robes. There tend to be two types. Traditional robes, and most dress robes, come down to the ankle, with long sleeves and a high collar. Then there are more modern robes most people wear these days. It’s usually about knee length, though some people wear calf-length and my daughter has insisted that thigh-high robes are currently the thing all witches wear.” The corner of Harry’s mouth twitched. “Anyway, they can have long or short sleeves, and usually people wear them over hose or slacks. School uniforms are required to be worn during class and at meals, but during free time you can wear whatever you want within reason.”  
“Cool!” Ace grinned, but Clemency didn’t look so happy.  
“Why can’t I read something too?” she demanded of her parents.  
Amelia sighed. “Ace, let your sister read the requirements.”  
“Fine. I didn’t get that far anyway.” Ace handed the page to Clemency and she immediately started reading excitedly.  
“HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY UNIFORM  
First-year students will require:  
1.Three sets of plain work robes (black) knee-length or lower  
2.One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4.One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)  
5\. Two sets of sleepwear  
6\. Four pairs of pants & two pairs of long pants  
Please note that all pupil’s clothes should carry name tags. Uniforms must be worn during meals, classes, and extra-curricular activities. Outside of these times, students may wear clothing other then uniforms, as long as it follows the school dress code below.  
A. No pants or skirts less then just above the knee  
B. No strapless or spaghetti strap tops  
C. Pants may not be visible at any time  
D. Nothing explicit or excessively violent  
COURSE BOOKS  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Those Who Fell: The First and Second Wizarding War (abridged version) by Audrey Weasley  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions: 2nd Edition by Arsenius Jigger, Amendments by Severus Snape and ___  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble  
Laughing In the Dark: Beginner Charms & Spells by George Weasley, preface by Harry Potter  
OTHER EQUIPMENT  
1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
1 set of basic potion-making materials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad OR a ferret OR a rat OR a pygmy puff. Special exceptions may be made.  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS”  
Dudley got nervous. “Harry...how are we supposed to buy any of that stuff? And how much will it be?”  
“Not nearly as much as you’re thinking. Hogwarts doesn’t have tuition, so it’s just the cost of the supplies, really. The most expensive thing is wands, but they never need to be replaced. The only things that need to be purchased in later years is new books, replacing potion-making materials, robes when they grow enough to need them, and sometimes special requirements. We always get the books new, but almost all the books required can be purchased second-hand for much less, if you need,” Harry said.  
Amelia shot Dudley a look. “Dudley, honestly, put your pride aside. You might not be able to afford it, but I can.”  
Dudley reddened. Harry, apparently not wanting to dwell too long, spoke. “As for where they can be purchased...”  
“Diagon Alley!” shouted Merritt. “We finally get to go for ourselves!”  
“If you’d like, I’ll be taking those two to Diagon Alley a week from tomorrow, and you can come with us.”  
“That’d be great, thanks.” Dudley was immensely grateful that Harry seemed to have ignored any hard feelings between the two of them. “Um...it’d be by car, right?”  
Harry chuckled. “Yeah. The floo system is faster, but I’d rather not risk anyone misspeaking.”  
“The what?”  
“Not important.” Harry waved it aside. “We’d better get going, I promised Ginny we’d be home in time for me to make supper. Clemency, Ace, it was nice to meet you.”  
“You’ll call to let us now what time you’re coming?” Amelia asked. “Another owl would look odd.”  
“Well, muggles generally ignore--” Harry cut himself off. “We’ll send word one way or another. Have a lovely day!”  
Dudley and Amelia walked to the door and watched Harry steer his kids into their car, watching them buckle before getting in himself and driving away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More family stuff!
> 
> Luna Lovegood  
> Not sure what she's doing, the wonderful woman, but her sons are...just as interesting as her. Keep in mind I'm only going off of Luna, since I haven't seen/read Fantastic Beasts, and therefore don't know the other side of the family. Lorcan and Lysander are eleven and adorable.
> 
> Adopted Weasleys  
> Trisana Thunderglass. This is a tribute/homage(?) to one of my favorite characters from Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce, Trisana Chandler, a weather mage and genius. In this world, she's a basic witch, pureblood whose parents died between war 1 and 2 and she was raised by a mean great-aunt who went to Azkaban after war 2 for crucioing some children. The Weasleys took Tris in since she's distantly related, but Tris kept the name because it's a very distinct name. A moderately distant ancestor was Lady something of Thunderglass. Tris teaches astronomy along with Aurora Sinastra, because my version of Astronomy is part observing the sky on the tower, which basically any teacher can do, it's just making sure the kids are focusing and not goofing off, and then the other part is actually learning the reasoning behind it all, and why. Classes are a lot bigger, so teachers generally teach certain years and then other years will be other teachers. Tris is probably gonna stick to the older kids, but I'm not quite sure yet.  
> Irene Moore did take the Weasley name before she married. Before that, she was Irene Draper. Her parents died and the Weasleys adopted her, but she'd seen death at least once, so she can see thestrals. In fact, she and her husband Kenneth run a small ranch that mostly raises and trains thestrals for pulling carts/carriages and such. She had three children, but the oldest, Bertha, died when she was twelve years old. Now she has two. Arthur, who's sixteen, and Samantha, who's twelve. Kenneth and Arthur can both see thestrals.  
> Jennifer Price is a muggleborn whose records were among those destroyed. She was located by the ministry and discovered to be in need of a home, so Arthur and Molly adopted her. She was in Hufflepuff. That's all I know about her for now, other then physical features which aren't important.  
> Urso Wilhelm Weasley is either a muggleborn like Jen, or a halfblood, I'm not sure yet. He was Gryffindor in school.  
> Millie Silvent-Lee, formerly Rowle, wasn't formally adopted like Tris, Irene, and Urso, or even just informally homed like Jen, but she's sort of latched onto the Weasley's. Like that person that sleeps on the sofa for a few days but a few days turns into a few weeks and the next thing you know you're telling them to just move to the guest bedroom so you stop sitting on them by accident in the morning.
> 
> Cho married a muggle and had three children, two daughters and a son, and because I think there's a certain weight to having a parent who's magical, the three children got Cho's last name instead of his, so that if/when they went to Hogwarts, they'd be listed as Chang. The oldest, Moira (seventeen right now), is not magic, but her younger sister Catherine (thirteen) and her brother Jasper (11) are.
> 
> I haven't picked Lee Jordan's spouses name, but he married and had two kids, Felicity Jordan, a 16 year old Hufflepuff prefect, and Carlos Jordan, 13 years old, Gryffindor, who wears hearing aids because he's either hard of hearing or deaf and he is a part-time announcer for Quidditch because he HAS THE ENTHUSIASM.
> 
> Dean and Seamus married and they have one daughter, a sixteen year old named Wilona Thomas-Finnigan. She's adopted, Gryffindor, and she plays as a beater on the quidditch team and owns at it. She's also captain.
> 
> That's it for now.


	3. Diagon Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in Clem's POV. The twins go to Diagon Alley with their new cousins and meet future classmates and teachers. Wands are purchased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have several chapters, though none of them are polished. I haven't updated in a while, so I'm curious, what kind of update schedule would you guys like me to try to stick to, when I have updates available?

Clem probably should have been asleep, but she was way too excited for that. Today her dad’s cousin would be picking them up and going to that strange place to buy school supplies. She still couldn’t believe it. She and Ace were wizards, well, she was a witch, but whatever. So many things made sense now. She knew her father was uncomfortable around his cousin, but she wasn’t sure why. Uncle Harry seemed pretty cool. Nick and Merritt she wasn’t sure about. Time would only tell if they were going to be friends or not.   
Uncle Harry had told Mum and Dad that if they wanted to tell Peggy they could, but that she needed to keep quiet about it or the ministry would get involved, but as it turned out, Peggy didn’t care. When she heard Ace and Clem were going to a private school now, all she asked was whether she could study in their room while they were away. Other then that, she didn’t care. Clem didn’t understand her older sister. She had just found out she had magic! She wanted to play around with it, see what she could do before she even got there, but Uncle Harry had made it clear that wasn’t allowed, which really annoyed Clem.  
She was starting to get sleepy, so she decided to close her eyes for a few minutes. The next thing she knew, Mum was shaking Clem awake gently and telling her it was time to get ready to go. By the time Clem was dressed and showered and was eating breakfast at the kitchen table with Peggy, Uncle Harry’s car had pulled up to the house.  
When Clem got inside the car, she thought something must be wrong with the car. From the outside, it was a normal looking station wagon, with two seats in the front, three in the middle, and two rear-facing ones in the back. Inside, it had at least two more rows then that. Uncle Harry was sitting in the drivers seat, and a tall woman with red hair and warm brown eyes sat in the passenger seat. Clem guessed that was Uncle Harrys wife. She was dressed in a deep emerald green tunic, a pale yellow vest that reached her knees and was fastened just below her bust with a gold button, and a pair of white leggings.   
“Morning, Dudley, Amelia,” Uncle Harry turned around to face them. This time, instead of wearing a suit, he wore a plain button up and slacks, with a long loose-looking coat over it in a dark orange-red. “This is my wife, Ginny.” The woman--Aunt Ginny waved cheerfully. “Amelia, I was thinking you could sit in the second row with Ian and Doug Marshall. Ian got his Hogwarts letter a few days after your two did, so he and Doug will be joining us in Diagon Alley.” In the row directly behind Uncle Harry, Ian sat. Clem noted that he was a short, nervous looking boy. He had dark brown skin covered in freckles and red hair he kept pulled back in a ponytail. His father sat next to him, and Mr Marshall was a tall, lean black man who looked almost identical to his son, except Mr Marshall’s hair was black and he had blue eyes to Ians hazel ones.  
“I’m still not sure about all this,” Doug said, sounding a bit grumpy. “My son is enrolled in one of the most prestigious arts schools in the country. Are you sure it’s not just puberty?”  
“Quite sure, Mr Marshall,” Uncle Harry replied patiently. “Anyway, since the three of you are probably the least familiar with magic, I figured you could in the second row so that if you think of any questions, my wife or I can answer them. Dudley, you’re in the third row with my younger daughter, Lily, and my second son, Albus.” Lily was a skinny girl a few years older than Clem, with flaming red hair and brown eyes, looking like a skinnier, less freckled version of her mother. She was reading from a book with a picture of a broomstick on the front. Albus looked like he was probably almost two feet taller than her when he didn’t slouch, but he was slouching now. He was also pale and skinny, but had sharper corners, piercing green eyes, and a mess of black hair. Both wore glasses and jeans with tunics and vests, Albus wearing a black vest and green tunic and thin silver frames, Lily an eye-smarting red vest and a much more subdued brown tunic and glasses that matched her vest and sparkled wildly. “James--”  
“I told you I’m going by Jamie this year! James is so last year,” a black haired, brown eyed boy said from the back, sounding irritated.  
“More like Allison said she likes Jamie better,” Aunt Ginny muttered. It was probably meant to be said to herself, but was loud enough for the whole car to hear, sending Albus and Lily into fits of laughter.  
Uncle Harry sighed, shooting his wife a disgruntled look. “Fine. JAMIE and Nick are in the fourth row, and Merritt is in the very back, so that leaves one seat in the fourth row and one seat in the fifth row, the one that faces backwards. Ace and Clemency, you two can pick who sits with Jamie and Nick and who sits with Merritt.” Jamie seemed to be taller then his father, and had a deep summer tan and hair almost long enough to put in a ponytail. Clem thought it was a shame that he was her cousin, because he was very handsome. He certainly looked much friendly then Nick, who was glowering. Next to Clem, Ace looked nervous. No doubt he remembered the burnt fingers incident and was wary of their cousin.  
Clem took pity on her brother. “I’ll sit in the fourth row.” Ace flashed her a look of immense gratitude.  
“Great. Sorry everything’s so hectic, seating arrangements are difficult.”  
It took a while, but finally, everyone was settled and the car sped off.  
Clem had planned on reading a book on the ride, but she found herself distracted by the noise of the car. Even rides with her sister, baby brother, and three cousins when they visited wasn’t as loud. In the front seat, Aunt Ginny was alternating between talking to Uncle Harry about something with a weird sounding name and telling her kids to knock it off. Mum seemed to be having a good time, asking all sorts of questions and talking to Mr Marshall and Ian.   
In the next row, Albus was arguing with his dad. “Last year James’s girlfriend got to come with us, and they only dated for two months! Why can’t Scorpius come with us?”  
“I’ve already told you why, Al,” Uncle Harry said calmly, “I know you and Scorpius have been dating for eighteen months, and I’m glad to see that you get along well--”  
“As long as it’s not in your bedroom again,” Aunt Ginny said, causing Albus to turn red. James and Nick, next to Clem, started making kissing noises. “Boys! Stop that.”  
“Sorry Mum,” they chorused.  
“Anyway,” Uncle Harry said, “Regardless of your feelings, I’m sure Scorpius’s father would like to take Scorpius shopping himself. I know I wouldn’t be happy with James if he decided that he’d rather go shopping with Allison and her parents. It’s not like you won’t see him at Diagon Alley.”  
“It’s not the same...” Albus grumbled.  
Lily, apparently sensing weakness in Dad, had put down her book, opened her mouth and hadn’t stopped talking at Dad since he got buckled up. “Are you really our dad’s cousin? Can I call you Dudley or do I have to call you Mr Parker? Are you really a muggle? Do muggles play quidditch too? How do muggles play quidditch without brooms, I mean brooms are a huge part of quidditch so without them quidditch would be pretty boring wouldn’t it?”  
She paused to take a breath, and Dad cut in. “Yes, I’m your fathers cousin, and you can call me Dudley if you like. Yes I’m a muggle, and I have no idea what quidish is, so I’ll assume no. We usually play football. You go to Hogwarts too?”  
“Yes!” Lily sounded very excited. “It’s my third year going to Hogwarts. I’m Gryffindor, and that’s the best house so I hope your kids get in Gryffindor.”  
Next to Clem, Jamie perked up at the mention of Gryffindor. “Gryffindors are!” he shouted. “Strong!” he and Lily chorused.  
“Gryffindors are!” Lily said, then Jamie joined in. “Brave!”  
“Gryffindors are--”  
“Alright, you two, that’s enough.” Uncle Harry didn’t shout, but his voice carried throughout the car. “I won’t have you starting up house rivalry before school starts, not to mention confusing our guests. If you haven’t forgotten, your brother is in Slytherin and that doesn’t make him any less strong or brave than you.”  
“Whatever,” Jamie muttered, leaning back and looking bored again. Albus shot James a withering look, then slouched even more.  
“Um...what are houses?” Clem asked hesitantly.  
Jamie and Nick stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “What are houses--” Nick began scornfully, but Aunt Ginny in the front cut him off.  
“When you go to school at Hogwarts, you get sorted into a house, dear. There are four houses, and students go to different ones depending on their traits. You can still have friends and family in other houses, and in fact since I went, they’ve been working on inter-house unity, but it’s an important tradition. Those who are bravest and chivalrous, willing to fight for a cause and be passionate about it tend to join Gryffindor. Slytherin is for those who display cunning, wit, and ambition, being goal-oriented. Loyal, honest, trusting students join Hufflepuff, and clever, creative, thinking-outside-of-the-box students join Ravenclaw. The most important thing to remember is, who you are the first day of the first year will not necessarily be the person you leave school as after seven years. People can and do change. The houses are simply a way for like-minded students to join together. Houses generally take classes together, study together, and eat together. Families are usually sorted into the same house, but it’s not granted. I was sorted into Gryffindor, as were my brothers, but as you might have gathered, Albus is Slytherin, and Harry almost got into Slytherin. From some genealogy research we’ve done, his family tends to get sorted into both Gryffindor and Slytherin.”  
“Oh.” Clem wondered which house she would get in. The rest of the ride was spent quietly thinking to herself.

Half an hour later, Clem woke as the car stopped abruptly. “Time to get out,” Uncle Harry said from the front.  
Clem looked around, confused. It looked like the car had stopped in a rather unremarkable street.  
“This looks nothing like the street you told us about,” Mr. Marshall said, once they’d all gotten out, glaring at the Potters. “Why have you brought us here?” Clem kind of agreed with him, but she still felt he was being a bit harsh.  
Aunt Ginny smiled far too sweetly, leaning on Uncle Harry. “That’s fine, Mr. Marshall, it’ll be easier just to show you. Harry, darling, you might want to help Amelia and Dudley, since they won’t be able to see it. I’ll take the Marshalls.”  
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Ginny?” Uncle Harry gave Aunt Ginny a stern look, and she relented.  
“Alright, fine, you can take the Marshalls.”

Confused, Clem glanced over at Ace, but he shrugged, apparently not affected by this argument. Ace never seemed to notice loud voices. Clem envied his calm. As Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry led them across the street to a small building that seemed oddly squeezed between the shops on either side, and very few people were entering or leaving. Those who were seemed to dressed rather strangely. Many wore the vest-and-tunic outfit that Clem’s cousins were wearing, but others wore what looked like calf-length, scoop neck dresses of varying colors, with either short or elbow-length sleeves. Those who exited usually unfastened the robes to show undershirts and either shorts or skirts underneath, though one girl was wearing a dress. Several old people were wearing long-sleeved dresses that were calf-length or ankle-length, with high collars that fastened with strange pins, one or two with slashs in the sleeves. As they entered, Uncle Harry fastened up his coat, which turned out to be the same calf-length dress she was seeing others wear.

Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny casually pushed past patrons, guiding their family and guests through what looked like a crowded bar. Dad opened his mouth to argue the minute they stepped in, but Uncle Harry whispered something in Dads ear, and after that there were no complaints. Finally, they reached the back of the bar and exited, stepping out into a barren looking courtyard with a huge brick wall in the back. Uncle Harry glanced back. “Everyone ready?”

“I still don’t--” Mr. Marshall started to say, then stopped, for very good reasons. Uncle Harry had taken out a piece of pale brown wood, something like a stick or what might have passed for those play wands Clem and Ace used to play with as little kids, and tapped a seemingly-random brick on the wall. Almost immediately, the wall began to rearrange itself faster than her eyes could follow. Within seconds, what used to be a solid brick wall was now a simple brick archway leading into what might have been a normal street except...it wasn’t. The buildings, the people shopping, the people selling items, and the items themselves being sold...none of them looked like anything Clem had ever seen in her entire life. She was barely aware of her brother standing next to her, gawking with his mouth wide open. 

James, apparently having a flair for the dramatics, bowed. “Welcome to Diagon Alley, ladies and gents.” Aunt Ginny smacked him lightly around the head. “You wound me, woman!” Aunt Ginny rolled her eyes and looped an arm around her sons shoulders.  
“Want me to kiss it better?” she said to James, who tuck his tongue out at her. “You always wanted us to kiss your hurts better when you were little.”  
“Mum! I’m eighteen bloody years old!”  
“And still my baby.”  
“Come on you lot, we’ve places to go and it’ll take a while.” Uncle Harry seemed completely unaffected by any of this, either the strange world they were entering, or his wife and son’s behavior, walking with intent towards a snowy white marble building, several stories taller than the buildings on either side of it. Glancing at the others, Clem could see that none of Uncle Harry’s kids looked shocked at the sight of such a strange street. Quite the contrary, as they approached the building, people called out greetings and inevitably the group would stop, as either Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, James, or Lily had to have what felt like an hour long conversation. 

Clem didn’t really mind, though. She was constantly bumping into someone because she was staring so much. A woman was arguing with a shop-keeper at a nearby table over the price of what looked like frog eggs, both wearing ankle-length robes. A couple doors down, a shop advertised the newest brooms for sale, along with pictures of groups of people dressed in orange, green, or purple robes, holding brooms. Clem was startled to see the pictures moving, not just sitting still like regular pictures. The purple team was shouting threats over at the orange team, and the gray team was goofing off or snogging each other.  
“Don’t get left behind, you three, we’re on a tight schedule.” Aunt Ginny seemed to miss nothing. Clem was embarrassed, but felt better when she saw Ian looking just as distracted as her.

When they reached the marble building, Uncle Harry stopped and turned to the adults. “Doug, Amelia, Dudley, this will probably be boring for the kids and it’ll take a while to exchange money. Why don’t they go with Ginny to get fitted for school robes?”  
Dad frowned, but Mum gave him a look and he relented. “Alright, fine.” Ian clung to his father, looking bug-eyed and nervous, but Mr. Marshall gently pulled him off and whispered something Clem couldn’t hear. Reluctantly, Ian joined the others. Clem sympathized with him. She knew her parents seemed to trust Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, and she’d never known them to steer wrong, but she still would have liked one of them to come. Ian only had his father with him.  
“Mum, my robes from last year still fit, can I go--”  
“Yes James, you can go look for Allison.” Aunt Ginny sighed. At Albus’s pleading look, she gave him a stern look in return. “Oh no, young man, I happen to know you grew at least six inches since May. New robes are a must. You too, Lily.” Lily scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, ears turning a peculiar shade of red.

Getting fitted for robes was the strangest experience Clem had ever had. She had gotten cloths altered before, but Mum had always done it, explaining what she was doing as she did it and making Clem help. In this shop, when they’d entered, a woman had asked what they were in for, and hearing they were in for school robes, had them standing on small stools before Clem could blink. The woman, or Ms Malkin as she introduced herself had gone into the back and come back with a young man who looked like her son and was holding several plain black robes. Once Clem was dressed in one of the robes, a measuring tape, piece of chalk, pair of scissors and needle with thread descended on her from thin air. The measuring tape whipped about her, finding where alterations needed to be made, then the pencil marked it and the scissors and needle worked to cut and sew. In almost no time at all, the robe was completely done and two others appeared on the table at the side, folded neatly. The robe Clem was wearing tugged impatiently, and Clem quickly unfastened it so it could swoop over to join the first two. It seemed that the others finished up either before or at the same time as Clem, because when she stepped off the stool and went to get her robes, the stools were already taken by a new group of students. Ms Malkin left her son to work on the next group and walked over to talk to Aunt Ginny. “Will you be paying for the whole group, or just your kids?”  
“The whole group,” Aunt Ginny said. “It’ll be easier that way.” Money changed hands. At least, Clem thought it was money. It certainly didn’t look like any money Clem had ever seen. Either way, Ms Malkin swept the robes into a large bag and handed it to Aunt Ginny. “Name tags are in for everyone per school regulation?”  
“Of course.” Ms Malkin sniffed, clearly offended by the assumption that they wouldn’t be. 

Once they left Madame Malkin’s and met up with the others, the rest of the trip seemed to fly by. The books interested Clemency, and she was looking forward to opening them, but that was mostly just hunting down the right books. The only really interesting thing that happened was when Aunt Ginny and Lily had to find a shopkeeper to help because the ancient runes book Lily needed was apparently identical to almost all the runes books. The shopkeeper, of course, found the book within minutes, and looked rather annoyed to be bothered for such a trivial thing. Aunt Ginny had to keep Lily from shouting at him or trying to throw a book. Uncle Harry was with Ian and Mr Marshall at the used bookstore getting most of Ians books.

Just outside the bookstore, they found James, holding hands with a slim, pretty black girl with mousy-brown hair kept braided back. The two were smiling rather stupidly at each other, and Clem immediately guessed this was Allison, the girl Aunt Ginny had mentioned. With them were a tall, stocky man with slightly greying blond hair, a woman with silver-flecked blonde hair, and two boys, one with medium brown skin and blue eyes, one with light brown skin and brown eyes, both extremely freckled and with earlobe length curly black hair. “Hullo Neville!” Uncle Harry said, grinning as Aunt Ginny hugged the woman. “Neville, Hannah, this is Ian Marshall and his father, Doug, my cousin Dudley--d’you go by Dursley or Parker?” He turned to face Dad, who grimaced.  
“Uh, Parker. Dursley seemed a bit of poor luck.”  
“Right.” Uncle Harry turned back to the two. “My cousin Dudley Parker, his wife Amelia Parker, and their two kids Ace and Clemency Parker. Dudley, Doug, Amelia, this is Neville Longbottom, Hannah Longbottom, and their kids, Allison, Augustus, and Franklin.”  
“Nice to meet you.” Mr. Longbottom smiled warmly and shook Mr Marshalls hand, then Mum and Dad. “I teach Herbology at Hogwarts, and my wife is the infirmary matron.”  
“Oh.” Mum blinked. “Does...that is...does she get a lot of work, then?”

Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom glanced at each other, seeming to have a silent argument, then Mrs. Longbottom turned to Mum, giving her a slightly forced smile. “Well, there are always the small issues, of course, nosebleeds, colds, flu season can create a few hours of chaos, and the first few weeks usually all the new purebloods flock in complaining of various ailments that was passed on due to the muggleborns, but that all gets dealt with relatively easily. Really, though, it’s fine. ”  
“It was much worse when I was a student,” Uncle Harry said, as if he thought that would reassure Mum. “Two wars back-to-back with only a fifteen year difference created a lot of animosity between students, and school policies hadn’t really been updated to reflect some changes. I mean, really, the amount of injuries per year--” He stopped at his wifes stern look. “But of course, Hogwarts is very safe right now?”  
Mum looked absolutely terrified at Uncle Harry’ thoughtless words, and Clem silently prayed that she wouldn’t pull them two of them out before classes had even started. Thankfully, James chose that moment to try to sneak off with Allison. Soon almost everyone was involved in that argument, and the mention of danger was forgotten. 

Once they said goodbye to Mr and Mrs Longbottom, who still had to purchase books for their own children, they continued shopping. They stopped at a shop and purchased telescopes, including a new one for Lily because she’d apparently managed to destroy hers doing god-knows-what, purchased brass scales somewhere else, again purchasing a replacement for Lily. “And if you break something this year, it’s coming out of your allowance,” Uncle Harry warned his daughter, who looked unfazed by the scolding. “How do you destroy a set of scales, a telescope, and your cauldron in one year?” Lily didn’t respond. She was busy reading a book she’d nicked from the bag. 

When Clem glanced over, she saw the book was labeled “Making the Impossible:: Rare and Advanced Potions.” Clem wondered what Lily needed with a book like that, and what kind of potions would be considered advanced or rare. She assumed potions was just chemistry with a fancy name, and Ace insisted chemistry was easy. Ever since Mum had gotten them those little chemistry sets when they were toddlers, Ace had always enjoyed making little combinations, with Mum supervising to make sure he didn’t hurt himself. 

After purchasing plain looking cauldrons at a shop (“No Lily, I’m not letting you spend your allowance on a solid gold cauldron. Be practical.”) and potion ingredients at a place called the apothecary (here Lily disappeared briefly and when Clem saw Lily again, she looked extremely pleased with herself), they entered a rather old building. On the outside it had an old sign that was starting to peel, with a shinier sign hanging below it, and the display was simply three wands like what Clem was seeing everyone use around her, all displayed on little pillows. The door swung open to let two pale brown-haired boys skip out clutching rectangular boxes, followed by a somewhat distant, dazed looking woman with wispy blonde hair, and a tall awkward looking man. “Hullo, Harry,” the woman said, smiling faintly at the group.  
“Afternoon, Luna, Rolf.” Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny stopped to greet the family. “Got Lorcan and Lysanders wands, have you?”  
“Oh, yes,” Luna said dreamily, “We’re very proud. Is this your cousin?”  
Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny looked at each other, while Clem and Ace stared at the ditzy woman. How did she know Dad was Uncle Harry’s cousin? “Er, yeah, Luna, he is.” Uncle Harry seemed to realize something. “Luna, Rolf, this is Doug and Ian Marshall, my cousin Dudley and his wife Amelia Parker and their kids Ace and Clemency Parker. Doug, Amelia, Dudley, this is Luna and Rolf Scamander and their sons, Lorcan and Lysander.”  
“Nice to meet you.” Mr Marshall and Mum shook hands politely with Mr Scamander, then Aunt Ginny turned to the two boys.  
“Well, what are they?” Aunt Ginny asked the two cheerily.  
The two boys exchanged glances, then grinned at Aunt Ginny, white teeth flashing against dark skin. They seemed just as dreamy as their mother. “I’ve got an alder wand!” The first boy said happily, “Unicorn hair, ten inches. Lys got dogwood with unicorn hair, too. Ollivander said our wand cores are both from the same unicorn, too.”  
“Very nice,” Aunt Ginny praised. “Brother wands can be very powerful.” Clem wondered what was so important about the wands, but she was interested in the apparent fact that unicorns were real. After another few minutes of idle talk, the Scamanders left to get books, and Uncle Harry led them into the shop.  
Entering the building, Clem immediately sneezed. Rectangular boxes were stacked up everywhere, very precariously. Other then that, the store was mostly empty. There was a counter with a register money box sort of thing, covered in books and small tiles of wood, a short table in the middle of the floor with three stools, empty except for a surprisingly fresh apple. Clem took a closer look and realized the apple was wax. In the back, she could hear something scraping wood repeatedly. She also heard a brief whistle.  
Uncle Harry took a hesitant step forward.“Ollivander?” he said. The scraping continued. Uncle Harry raised his voice. “Megan!”  
The scraping sound stopped. There was silence for a minute, then a small head popped up behind a row of boxes. “Oh, Mr Potter, of course!” A moment of loud scrambling, and a ditzy looking woman in peacock blue robes, sleeves rolled up and a wand holding hair together in a loose bun, appeared. She was maybe six inches taller than Lily. If Clem hadn’t known any better, she would have guessed Ollivander to be a month or two older than Lily, not an adult. “Back for another wand for her?” Ollivander gestured at Lily, her mouth twitching. “I’m afraid my brother is currently out gathering the wood for stubborn rule-breaking girls, so...”   
Lily grew red as Nick and Albus started cackling. Uncle Harry looked about to laugh, then he noticed his wifes glare and coughed instead. “Boys, stop laughing at your sister. Um, no, Megan, we’ve got--”  
“New students!” Ollivander suddenly shrieked excitedly. She pulled a pair of spectacles out of a pocket and eyed Ian curiously. Ian clung to Mr Marshall’s hand. “Hmm...yes, I think...muggleborn, of course, it’s often muggleborns..still, can’t be sure...”  
Uncle Harry cleared his throat. “Um, Megan, is something wrong?”  
Ollivander blinked, then grinned widely. Clem didn’t like the look on Ollivanders face. It was the look of someone who liked torturing people finally getting a job. “Just getting a feel for the wands, Mr Potter. One moment.” Ollivander ran into the back and they heard rummaging.  
Uncle Harry cleared his throat, sounding a little sheepish. “I know she seems a little odd, but she and her brother are actually geniuses when it comes to wands. It’s a family legacy. They inherited the shop after the previous owner retired--he was either their grandfather or their great-uncle, I’m not sure which one. I purchased my wand from him. Megans brother is a little more restrained then her, but he prefers to collect the supplies himself from what I’ve heard. Don’t take anything she says personally, she doesn’t really remember to think of people’s feelings.”  
“Here it is! Vine with unicorn hair, nine inches and swishy.” Ollivander emerged from the boxs, holding up a wand triumphantly. It was a pale brown, almost white, stick. “Vine always reacts when it’s owner is in the room, which means one of you is its owner! Here, try it.” She held it out to Merritt, who made a face and glanced at his father. Uncle Harry nodded. Reluctantly, Merritt took the wand. “No, try it! Wave it and see if anything happens, if it reacts.” Merritt made a token wave. “No, I suppoe not, the wand would have reacted as soon as you held it...here, you try it.” Clem had no more luck then Merritt with the pale brown wood. Neither did Nick or Ace. Finally, after staring at it for a moment, Ian took it gingerly. As soon as he gripped it, the wand tip lit up like a sparkler, whistling loudly. “There you go then!” Ollivander looked ecstatic. Ian was decidedly less happy.  
“Isn’t there a less...excitable one?” he asked hesitantly. Ollivander’s face fell.  
Uncle Harry put a hand on Ians shoulder. “I know you might not be happy with it right now, but it’s best to stick with a wand that chooses you. That’ll work better for you then one that doesn’t want to work for you.”  
“Fine.” Ian slumped.  
Ollivander clapped, excited, then turned to Ace. “Alright, you now! Let’s see...right-handed?” Ace nodded, looking nervous. She leaned in and studied his face, then his right hand, seeming not to notice his discomfort, then turned and pulled the dark brown wand out of her bun and waved it. Immediately, four or five boxs flew out of their positions and settled on the table, the stacks adjusting for the loss. Then she pulled one box open. “Try this one. Walnut, phoenix feather, fourteen inches.” Ace eyed it, looking nervous, but waved it a little. Nothing happened. Ollivander snatched the wand and placed it back in the case, then opened the next. This one, hazel with unicorn horn and nine inches, fared no better. Ollivander didn’t look disappointed at the challenge, though. She seemed to relish it. Poking through a stack by hand, she finally pulled one out and handed it to Ace. “Here. Alder with unicorn hair, nine and a half inches, bendy.”  
Ace looked calm as he accepted the wand, but Clem knew her brother well enough to see past his bravado. The failures were starting to get to him, she could tell. If this wand didn’t work for him...  
Ace took a deep breath, then waved the wand. Immediately, the wand sparkled, leaving sparks behind it.  
“Perfect!” Ollivander beamed. “Who’s next?”  
Nick immediately jumped . “Me!” His excitement seemed to die down a bit as Ollivander came over and inspected his face and right hand as closely as she had Ace’s, but he still watched closely as she pulled down several.  
“Try this one,” she said, handing him a wand, “Sycamore, phoenix feather, eleven inches.” Nothing happened when Nick waved it, but from both Ollivander and Nicks faces, neither expected anything to happen. Before Nick could say anything, Ollivander had another wand out for him. This wand was no more successful, as were the next two. Nick was starting to look frustrated, but Ollivander seemed to revel in this search, digging through stacks, boxes spinning around her head faster than the eye could follow. Finally she pulled a glossy black box and handed the wand to Nick. “I have a good feeling about this one, young man. Rowan, dragon heartstring, twelve inches. A little flexible, but be careful not to push it past it’s capabilities.”  
Slowly at first, Nick waved the wand a bit, biting his lip, eyebrows squinched together in concentration. At first nothing happened, then a light flashed out of the wand and flew off, disappearing before it flew into anything. Nick beamed up at his parents, and they grinned proudly back. Mum looked curious about the light, but she said nothing, choosing to take Dads hand instead. Clem wondered what they were thinking.  
“Who’s next?”  
Clem had hoped Merritt would take as long if not longer then his brother, but the minute he held the second wand--”Willow, thestral tail hair, nine inches and flexible,”--it lit up and managed to lengthen Merritts hair by two feet. Merritt apologized profusely, but Clem noticed he seemed unhappier when Aunt Ginny trimmed it magically then when it had appeared. Clem wasn’t sure what the Finally, Ollivander turned to Clem. “And you?”  
Clem wasn’t so sure if she wanted a wand if it meant she would have to wave about a bunch of sticks and look rather stupid. Still, when Ollivander carried over three different boxes, she gave in to her interest and took the first one Ollivander offered. This one (“walnut, ten inches, phoenix feather,”) did nothing when waved, as did the ivory-colored aspen wand or the larch and unicorn horn wand. Ollivander didn’t seem to notice Clem’s despair, happily pulling down several wand boxes, muttering to herself as she did so. Several wands later, Clem was about ready to give up, and Ollivander had disappeared into the back of the shop. Just as Clem was about to storm out in frustration, Ollivander appeared holding two boxes triumphantly. “Here, try this one,” Ollivander urged, handing Clem a slim black wand. “Ebony and unicorn hair.”  
Clem glared, but tried it. It did nothing. Ollivander didn’t seem surprised. “Hmm. Then try this one.” The one Ollivander handed Clem now was even more intimidating looking. It was about half an inch in diameter and fourteen inches long, the wood a dark glossy brown. The wand was almost completely smooth, except for the middle, where it suddenly bent slightly with a giant knot twisting the wood. The wand grew abruptly thick after that, almost like a sort of handle.  
Clem was about ready to refuse, but she caught her dad’s glare and changed her mind. “Fine. But if it doesn’t work I’m leaving.” Ollivander said nothing. She just smiled little and held the wand out to Clem. Suspicious, Clem took it. The moment her hand curled around the wood, she felt warmth, and sparks flew out as she waved it. She glanced over at Ollivander, startled, and the woman was beaming. “Fir wood, phoenix feather, a little bendy but mostly stiff.” Clem stared down at the wand. How did Ollivander know it would work for her?

Uncle Harry was extremely happy as they left the shop. “That went very well.” He turned to the kids. “All we have left is the menagerie and then we’ll be done.”  
“We’re getting an owl?” Nick asked Uncle Harry excitedly.  
“Yes, you are,” Uncle Harry said patiently. “Your mother and I did promise. Ace and Clem, don’t think you’re getting left out, either.”  
Ace and Clem glanced at Dad, who shook his head. “Don’t look at me. Your Uncle Harry’s the one getting you something.”  
“Every student needs a pet to keep them company,” Uncle Harry said cheerfully, “Just think of it as a late birthday present.”  
The Magical Menegarie was the loudest place they’d been yet. Owls lined one wall, in individual and group cages, hooting over each other. Another wall housed cats, fluffy ones and sleek ones and mangy looking ones, some meowing at customers, others coldly ignoring anyone looking. Toads and rats ran wild in huge tanks, getting excited over everything. In a few tanks in the back, snakes eyed passersby like they might be their next meal. Clem noticed that Uncle Harry avoided that area like the plague. In the middle of the store, a pen was filled with puppies, and the back wall had a glass section showing more dogs and cats in another room. When they entered, James and Albus went to the feed section, and Lily made a beeline for the snakes in the back, ignoring her dad calling for her not to antagonize them.  
Nicholas and Merritt dragged their cousins over to the owls, insisting that any wizard worth their salt had an owl. All sorts of owls lined the wall, from giant screech owls that glowered down at them, to tiny pygmy owls that chirped happily at the sight of a potential owner. Compared to the rest of the store, the owl section was remarkably dark. “Owl’s prefer it dark out,” Merritt explained, “Dad said that they’ll fly during the day for wizards, but that it’s a good idea to have their eyes checked out every six months to make sure they’re okay.” He was eying a pretty speckled barn owl. “Dad, do we have to share an owl?”  
Uncle Harry hesitated, looking about to cave, then Ginny interrupted. “Yes, Merritt, one owl. I’m not sending two off only to get none back because neither of you cared for them properly. One means you split the responsibilities. If you can take care of one owl well enough this year, next year you can get a second. Remember, an owl for the two of you, or two toads, that was the deal.”  
“No, Merritt, I don’t want a toad!” Nicholas grabbed onto his twin. “Don’t make me get a toad, Merry!”  
“Dont call me Merry!”  
While Ace was studying the owls with some fascination, Clem walked over to examine the other animals. As she passed the cats, she noticed a very young kitten in one cage. She stopped and walked back. “Isn’t he a little young to be by himself?” she asked an employee putting cat food in cages.  
The employee--Jay, her name tag read--smiled a little sadly. “Well, yes, he is, but his mother abandoned him. We found him and two other kittens in the gutter about two weeks ago. We’re not sure what caused the kittens to be abandoned, but we took them in. One died, unfortunately, and the other one got taken home by an employee. Since this little guy doesn’t have a home to go to, I take care of him and bring him home with me at night, but I don’t really have time for another cat, so I’m hoping someone will buy him instead.”  
Clem studied the kitten. He was small and little, less then a month old, and was crawling around the cage curiously. His fur was tangled and a sort of muddy brown, though it was starting to get some stripes, and he looked pretty banged up. His tail had been bitten partially off, and his back right leg was just missing. He wasn’t a pretty sight. Clem doubted anybody would want to buy the kitten, and she didn’t know what happened to cats who couldn’t be purchased, but she suspected it was nothing good. “Could I buy him?” she asked impulsively.  
The woman looked startled to find a buyer in the form of an eleven year old, but she didn’t argue. Dad looked ready to argue when Jay brought out all the different things that kittens that age would need, but Mum put a hand on his shoulder and he ceased arguing.   
Half an hour later, they left the Menagerie. Clem was holding the currently unnamed kitten in a little sling on her chest, while her brother held a cage with a handsome owl. Mum and Dad held the supplies needed for their new pets, and Nick was hugging a cage holding a huge screech owl to his chest. It was clearly too heavy for him, but he refused to let anyone else hold the cage, and eventually Uncle Harry was forced to cast a charm to make it lighter. Merritt seemed content to carry owl food and other necessary supplies. Clem suspected he wasn’t a fan of the giant, scary looking owl.  
Clem tickled the chin of her new kitten gently, and he mewed up at her. “I hope you like living with me,” she whispered. The kitten blinked, then went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More family stuff!
> 
> Oliver Wood never married or had kids (as far as I know right now), instead choosing to become the new flying instructor and inventing a kids version of quidditch with official rules, instead of pickup quidditch, which kids usually play before school.
> 
> Theodore Nott, a minor Slytherin, has a daughter named Bernice, who's sixteen and in Slytherin.
> 
> Lavender Brown did survive, but became a werewolf. She married Parvati Patil, who took Lavenders last name, and they have two daughters, Sage and Donna Brown. Sage is 15 and in Ravenclaw, Donna is 11.
> 
> Pansy Parkinson married a distant cousin of hers and had two kids, Laurel and Adan. Both are in Slytherin. Laurel is 16 and Adan is 17.
> 
> There are two Carrow kids, one from each of the siblings. Melisand Carrow is 14 years old, and the daughter of Alecto Carrow, who is dead. Ronan Carrow is 11, and the son of Amycus Carrow.
> 
> Marcus Flint married and had three sons, Jaylon Flint, 17; Oscar Flint, 15; and Terrance Flint, 11.
> 
> Kingsley Shacklebolt has three kids in this story because I decided it would be cool. He has Robin Shacklebolt, 15; Victor Shacklebolt, 11; and Elliot Shacklebolt, 13.
> 
> There was a death eater referred to as Travors, so for this story I gave him five sons and a daughter, all of whom had kids of their own. Mikal Travors had two sons, Eli, 16; and Quincy, 14. Quention Travors had Glen, 12. Jerome Travors had Conor, 15; and Ruby, 13. Ralon Travors had Kelsie, 14; Cillian, 16; and Jodie, 11. Albertia Appleby, nee Travors, had Devonta, 11; and Clyde, 14.
> 
> Goyle had three kids with two different women. Quinn is 16 and currently lives with her maternal aunt and uncle. Wulfric, 14, and Lynet, 11, live with their mother and grandmother.
> 
> Finally, the Parkers, of course. Dudley took his wifes name when he married, and they have four kids. Margaret "Peggy" Parker, who is 15 and very smart. Ace and Clemency Parker, 11. And finally John "Jack" Parker, 2.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, as promised, a quick rundown on the good guys.
> 
> First, the Weasleys. In this story, after the war, to everyones surprise, Molly and Arthur adopted three children orphaned from the war and over the years ended up having several other unofficial children living with them.   
> Bill Weasley/Fleur Delacour  
> Probably misspelled Fleur's last name but it's late so F that. Personally, I think if Fleur had been at Hogwarts, she'd have been Slytherin--I know that JKR had them sitting with Ravenclaw, but I don't think that's to do with individual behavior so much as Madame Maxine's preferences. Fleur loved her sister and such and thus was VERY grateful to Harry for saving Gabrielle, but later on she displayed some downright Slytherin behavior. For example, she only decided to stay in the UK after she met Bill and decided she liked him. She is a brave, loving woman--but cunning to me is her middle name. I know JKR only gave Bill and Fleur 3 kids, but nope, sorry, not my headcanon. In my world Fleur decides being a mum is her new goal in life--not just any mum, a Weasley mum, and she has 9 kids. Victoire (the oldest), Dominique, Louis, Gillas, Iva and Genevre, William, and Lowell. The ages currently are as follows; Victoire, 22; Dominique, 20; Louis, 17; Gillas, 16 (he was a surprise, Fleur and Bill had up until then been sticking to a 2-3 year gap in between pregnancies); Iva and Genevre, 15; Will, 13; and Lowell, the baby at 11. All have shades of hair ranging from very blonde to very red.  
> Charlie Weasley  
> Never married or planned to have kids--most likely aro-ace or gay-aro or even just gay and not interested because you can not be interested in a relationship without being aromantic--but was working in South America and found a little girl in a wizarding area in Columbia who he discovered had no parents. Haven't worked it out yet, maybe a dragon or something. Either way, Charlie ends up adopting her. It's her first year at Hogwarts, even though she's a year older then everyone else, because he only adopted her like a year ago.  
> Percy Weasley   
> Um...not much to say here. Marries Audrey Weasley, does something in the ministry, has two daughters, Molly 2 (15) and Lucy (11). Wizarding culture has a lot of naming after parents (mostly middle names, though.), but first names are usually either a new name or someone dead (see: James, Fred, Albus, Lily) and superstitous people think it's wishing a person dead if you name them after someone still alive. Percy didn't know this and was trying to honor his mum/alleviate the remaining guilt he has about abandoning them back in the books.  
> George Weasley  
> Continues running WWW, though I like the idea of him doing all sorts of stuff to help traumatized kids/adults. Marries Angelina Johnson and has Fred 2 (19) and Roxanne (14).  
> Ron Weasley  
> Not sure where he works, but not WWW. He did stay at home for a while when the kids were younger, though. Married Hermione, who is NOT minister of magic (yet) but is still pretty high up in the minstry. Has Rose (16) and Hugo (14).  
> Ginny Weasley  
> Married Harry, of course. I know that CC and others say she quit quidditch to be a mum but I don't really see Ginny that way. I don't think she's quite as willing to give up a career for a family as her mum was. I think she's back in quidditch right now in the story. Has James (18ish, seventh year Hogwarts), Albus (16), Lily (14), Nicholas and Merritt (11).
> 
> Neville and Hannah do NOT have bio kids, they have adopted kids and newly adopted kids at that. Allison, Augustus, and Franklin's parents died 2-3 years ago, and this was really only discovered by the fact that Allison suddenly started missing a lot of her classes, was sending large packages (with smuggled food and other supplies) home and getting long letters from home, and the final straw was when she was found to have not returned after Christmas break and was discovered at home caring for her younger siblings, who had both gotten ill from the lack of heat in the house. Neville and Hannah took them in and formally adopted them maybe a year ago. Allison is 17, in her seventh year, and Augustus and Franklin are 11.


End file.
